Former Reagan/Bush Official Denied Communion for Endorsing Obama

[gatorboy]

http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/09/the-day-i-was-denied-communion.html
April 2008. On that day the children were not with us . It was only my wife Carol and myself. I turned out to be the subject of the homily. Without warning or prior conversation, this blue-collar kid from Chicago had somehow given offense not just to this priest who stood before me, but in my memory, which was now running at top speed, to all those watchful religious eyes: to the good Franciscan sisters who watched the Kmiec brothers play basketball beneath the convent window; to Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who instructed us in black-and-white from the old 6" Philco as we sat upon the living room couch; to my school days pastor who, on May 7, 1959, distributed Communion to me for the first time; to the Bishop whose hands confirmed my membership in the body of Christ in 1963; to Brother Konrad Diebold, F.S.C, the Christian Brother who led us in prayer in high school chapel....A litany of saints, these splendid women and men of the cloth. ...

These men of faith were generous of heart, conduits of the Holy Spirit and always inclusive. Taking time to talk, to encourage, to share happiness and to comfort sadness. Most of all, supplying the gifts of faith, hope and love. A faith that carries us through this life in exile we don't always fully understand or appreciate. A hope for a destination that in all of its unknown quality one knows is a sublime contentment and peace freed of this world's anxieties. A love that didn't depend upon status, intelligence, or even how much we were able to put in the collection basket. We were accepted as we were--flaws and all.

Until that evening, when all was revoked.

Suddenly the life-long chain of liturgy was broken into pieces. The priest--the priest who had just joined with us in the prayer of the Rosary was now red-faced shouting. I thought. Talking about me. I had cooperated with evil. I had? I had killed babies? My heart was black. I was giving scandal to the entire church. I had once been a leader but now I forfeited any semblance of respectability or leadership. The good father grasped tightly the edges of the ambo, the unusual name given to the lectern in the Catholic Church. No faithful Catholic would ever contemplate doing what I had done. I was dead to the Holy Mother Church.

My wife held my hand tightly. We looked at each other in disbelief. Here was someone in the vestments of the priesthood who had called us to have our prayers be heard, who recited the Kyrie with us, asking the Lord's mercy upon us, now seemingly merciless, telling me and the many there assembled that I was unworthy. I was to be publicly shunned and humiliated. My offense? Endorsing Senator Barak Obama for President of the United States.

[mnhtnbb]

1. Servers swamped!

[beac]

2. Once again, the pulpit is used to spew HATE.

Wouldn't Jesus be proud? :puke:

[galaxy21]

3. Just remind them the republicans have never taken any serious steps to overturn roe vs wade

It was a republican who pioneered it...
Its republican appointees that have upheld it (O'day, Kennedy, Stevens, Blackmun)
They had congress, the senate, and the white house for six years and didn't do anything about it them.


I can understand someone that was pro life not wanting to vote democrat. But in many ways the republicans are just as bad.

[WeDidIt]

4. And the Cardinal overturned the revocation of communion

All turns out well in the end.

Valuable lesson of how a lowly priest can abuse his position and is brought to task for it.

[Cha]

5. Rec'd~Catholic Church needs to get their

priorities straight.

[Obamarama]

6. This is exactly why churches should be taxed!

You want to noodle your way into the political fabric, you lose your tax-free status. Given the number of churches to endorse parties and candidates, this would be a good thing in terms of the deficit. I say tax the hell out of the churches (no pun intended!).